Contrast, Comparison, and Definition of Writing Style Essay

Contrast, Comparison, and Definition of Writing Style - Essay Example In this essay about Purchasing a Home, it stands quite right to define the concept of defining the idea of ‘Buying a House’ and what it may mean to different people. Definition essays also mean to illustrate the application of the terms that is sought to be defined hence, it is quite correct to want to define the concept of ‘purchasing a house’, before delving further into it. In this essay, although the terms ‘purchasing a house’ literally means to buy a house, however, the implications of buying a house may vary with different points of view. People may have their own reasons and needs to clarify the term. Emphasis can be laid on similarities of opinions while buying a house; wherein a certain class of people may or may not like a certain kind of house. On the basis of this, one can use the ‘Contrast Essay’ methodology onto this essay. One can accentuate the contrasts in this essay in a number of ways. For example, the advantages of one kind of house over the other or purchasing a house in an urban area as opposed to purchasing a house in a rural area. Contrasts can be made in the prices of houses that are being purchased. In fact, all areas of subjectivity can be issued to contrast essays. Usually, contrasting in this essay will involve analyzing the situations that are being put forth by the writer.

A middle class family named The Birlings Essay Example for Free

A middle class family named The Birlings Essay An Inspector Calls, written by J. B. Priestley, is about a middle class family named The Birlings. The Birlings lived in an up and growing industrial town in the north midlands. Set in 1912, the Birlings were happily celebrating their daughter Sheilas engagement to a respectable businessman, Gerald Croft. However, the modest celebration turned out to be more than eventful when an unexpected inspector arrives enquiring the suicide and death of a young girl names Eva Smith. Whilst doing so, the inspector unlocks a chain of family secrets along the way. The play, in its time, proved to be very popular, and still does so today. In this play, I think that J. B. Priestley chose the characters very well. I think that what made the play so appealing is the way in which he gave each character such a strong personality. Each member of the Birling family has a unique personality and throughout the play some of the Birling family change. I do think however, that the Birlings as a whole family are quite stereotypical. The Birlings come across as a family that have wealth and seem to be quite a respected family of a high class. At the beginning of the play, the Birling family seem to be quite a closely bonded family but throughout the play this bond seems to drift apart as they recognise their differences. The family consists of four very unique and exciting individuals: Arthur Birling- A very self-obsessed, wealthy business man, also very self-opinionated. The perfect example of an old snob. Obviously very proud of his achievements in life, but with his heart set on a knighthood which would be his ultimate achievement. Sybil Birling- Considers herself high in regard to social standings, largely on the back of her husbands success and wealth. Possibly a Hyacinth Bucket of her time. A very unlikeable woman who sees lots of people as being beneath her. Sheila Birling- comes across as a very polite and obedient woman, looking forward to her engagement to Gerald Croft. However, as the play goes on, Sheila begins to realise the truth about herself and the Birling family, and begins to stand up against them. Eric Birling-Quite an enclosed person. Erics personality is hard to detect. He seems to be the outcast of the family, and the family do not discover until later on in the play that Eric is in fact a heavy drinker and was to father a illegitimate child. A typical wealthy young man of the day.

Consumer Knowledge About Nutritional Information Marketing Essay

Consumer Knowledge About Nutritional Information Marketing Essay The research is based on the impact of nutritional labeling on consumer buying behavior. the purpose of the study is to identify the factors that influence consumers to consider nutritional labeling while making a purchase from them or for their house hold. Moreover it also determines that printed nutritional value on packaged food products is essential for the consumer buying decision. This study made the researchers clear about the knowledge a consumer have about a nutritional content of package food products and also the nutrients a consumer look for their healthy diet through detailed published articles, journals and blogs related to food label. Many articles were referred for understanding of the reasons which play an important role in consumer buying behavior. This research is based on quantitative data; secondary data is referred for the understanding of the topic. The data is collected through questionnaires from 200 respondents of different age, gender, income and education level living in different areas of Karachi mainly from Defence/Clifton, KDA/Bahadarabad/PECHS, North Nazimabad/Nazimabad/F.B. Area, Gulshan e Iqbal/Gulistan e Jauhar/Malir and Saddar. The findings which are analyzed through this research are that there are various factors that influence consumers to read nutritional labeling while making a purchase. By these findings the researchers are able to develop a framework representing the socio economic classifications (SEC) that have an impact on consumer buying behavior. result_________________________ Introduction: Background: Labeling is defined as printed information or written text on the container of the product or it can be define as a subset of packaging (Prathiraja Ariyawardana, 2003). In food industry, labeling might just include the name of a brand, name of a product or logo but mostly it includes variety of information about a product like nutritional information, manufacturing date, expiration date, method of usage, contacts etc along with brand name, product name and logo. A label is one of the points of contact between producer and purchaser and is also a part of producer marketing plan (Prathiraja Ariyawardana, 2003). Labeling make consumers aware about any unique characteristic of the food, its nutritional properties, the way to use and how to preserve, all of these are of the upmost importance when buying, since the consumer has the opportunity to make purchasing decision (Senesi, Nayga, Gà ³mez, Palau, Ordoà ±ez, 2006). The items that consumers are most likely to read are price, prepa ration, manipulation and preservation of products. Another study revealed the items most read comprise calories, fats, sugar and fiber contents (Godwin, Henderson, Thompson, 2006). Information on a food label was found to affect a customer purchase behavior significantly. Nutritional information might make easy label use by increasing its benefits and by increasing the effectiveness of their use, thereby reducing the cost of using them. Nutritional information plays a significant role in providing relevant information to consumer through which the purchasing behavior varies (Prathiraja Ariyawardane, 2003). The level of awareness required to make the purchase decisions are compared across different socio-economic groups. Many investigators have also found that the interest in reading the food labels increases with age up to the mid-fifties, and thereafter it declines (Sushil Kumar Jabir Ali, 2011). The food printed label includes different information but it is found that nutritio nal value is one of the most important information for customers. Research Problem: The purpose of the study is to identify factors on the nutritional food label in influencing purchase decision in accordance with the socio-economic classification (SEC) of the consumers, while secondary objective of the research is to identify the characteristics of consumers and the extent of knowledge concerning nutritional value (senesi et al, 2006). Moreover this research helps to find the relation between printed nutrition value on packaged food product and consumer buying behavior. Consumers will choose better food products if they understand and use the food labels (senesi et al, 2006). The study explores the complex relationship of nutrition knowledge and consumer buying decision (Drichoutis, Lazaridis and Nayga,2006). The study can help to determine that printed nutritional value on packaged food products is essential for the customer buying decision or not. In the context to nutritional labeling, many customer switch towards other products after reading printed nutrition v alue such as fat, calories etc. The study also identifies those nutrition values which have a negative effect on consumer buying behavior. Problem Statement: The impact of printed nutritional labeling on consumer buying behavior. Objective of the study: To analyze the impact of printed nutritional labeling on consumer buying behavior. Sub Objectives: To examine the impact of printed nutritional labeling according to the gender of respondents. To identify how different age group respond to products with nutritional labeling. To analyze how educational level affect the consumers response to nutritional level. To study the impact of households income towards buying products with nutritional labeling. Scope: This research will be a study of Karachi, Pakistan. We will get the forms filled by middle and upper middle class visiting the malls and various supermarkets. We will ask them whether their buying preferences changed after reading the nutrition fact. Justification: By the research we will get to know how nutritional information printed on packaged food will benefit each stake holders: The biggest advantage for consumers will be confidence and ownership as the product is tested under certain standards. They will feel that the product is healthy for them. Consumers will get the advantage of time saving as they dont have to search and find out whether the product is safe or not. It will be beneficial for consumers who are health conscious and individuals who are on special diet recommended by doctors. Consumers can use health claims, which appear on the front of food packages, to recognize foods with positive nutritional qualities related to risk factors. Printed nutritional labeling will serve as a great way of promotion for the manufacture as it will provide their product an image of a safe and healthy brand. The producer will have its own unique product identity. The producer will get the competitive advantage as they will retain the loyal customer, lose fewer customers and attract more new customers. Assumptions: Our assumption is that all the economic indicators will remain same as well as the pattern of buying behavior. This assumption is made so that we can have result that is based on complete objectivity. We are also assuming that the nutrition information printed on the label of the packaged food is correct and by concerned authority. There is no kind of miss interpretation and proper application of government policy is kept in view by the producers while printing of the nutritional labeling.   In this research we are also assuming that consumers are aware of printed nutritional labeling found at the back of the every food item. Limitations: Our study will only consider the impact of gender, income, age, and life style index (LSI) and education level towards consumer buying behavior of nutritional products with printed nutritional labels on them. We are only focusing on those food products that have printed labeling on them. Structure of Report The research is divided into five main chapters which are Introduction, Literature review, Research Methodology, Data Findings and Analysis, Conclusion and Recommendations. Chapter 1 of this research relates to introduction and background of the study, research problem and objectives, justification of the research and a brief study of the search methodology that is used. Chapter 2 is about the previous studies conducted on nutritional labeling and consumer behavior. It also discusses the socio-economic factors which influence consumer buying behavior towards reading nutritional labeling on packaged food products in Karachi. Chapter 3 focuses on the research methodology, research design, sampling techniques, data analysis method, research design, as well as limitations to this research. In Chapter 4, the focus is on the research findings, Chapter 5 on analysis of the data that has been collected from respondents through questionnaires. Chapter 6 is Conclusion and recommendations that have been derived from this research are in Chapter 7. Literature Review: Printed nutrition labels are proposed to be used to help people make healthier choices, and consumers recognize them as a tool to improve health. Consumers can get relevant nutritional information with the help of nutritional labeling. It is found in researches that the consumer purchase behavior is affected by the nutritional labeling. The presence of nutritional information may influence the consumers to switch from unhealthy food products towards healthy food products (Anderson Zarkin, 1992). The interest on the consumers is to purchase and intake of improved nutritional foods which thus depends on the quantity and quality of information provided through a number of sources that also includes nutritional labeling. A printed label not only carries a brand name but also a source of important information (Caswell Padberg, 1999). CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE ABOUT NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: Due to globalization, consumers are becoming more aware about nutritional information because there is an increase in the food information available to them through sources such as food nutritional labeling, electronic and print media.Advertising involvement is another marketing concept that helps to identify consumer interest in processing making information. The impact of advertising creates a perception in the minds of consumers regarding the product and increases the awareness and reinforces the consumer to purchase a certain brand that has high advertisement involvement (KapoorKulshrestha, 2008). As the consumers have become more demanding now days therefore the producers have understand the psychology of consumers and guide them with practical knowledge to cater the market and serve the people. Consumers can end up making better food choices if they value and make use of the nutritional labeling. The government is also playing an essential part by imposing restrictions on the consumption of some products. Therefore, they are regulating product labeling especially on food processing where it is manufactured. This has a positive effect on consumers behavior as they can get to know the amount of nutrients content present in a food. (Senesi et al, 2006). NUTRITIONAL LABELLING: The nutritional labels have become increasingly important, particularly as products move from the status of basic commodities to highly processed, value-added products significance of a well-balanced diet. Nutrition information on groceries items allows consumers to consume a range of healthy foods, maintain optimum weight and choose a diet with low fat/ cholesterol. Select a diet with abundance of vegetables, fruits, and grain products, and restrain from sugars, salt/sodium that are considered unhealthy. Consumers can use health claims, which appear on the front of food packages, to recognize foods with positive nutritional qualities related to risk factors and wellness. These are the claims about the relationship between a nutrient or a food and the risk of an illness or health-related condition (JeddiZaeim, 2010). A label might carry only the brand name or a great deal of nutritional information (Kotler, 2001). A label is the most important point of contact between the manufacturer and the buyer and it is consider as an important part of marketing as well. It is not only consider a piece of paper stuck on the package but also an expression on which consumer important decisions are based. A label should clearly and simply state the name of the product, the nutrition facts (nutritional label), the net weight, the name and address of the producer, and the brand name. The label printed on the packaged food is mostly viewed before purchasing the product which portrays that the label has an impact on the buying behavior of individuals. Consumers inclination to a food item is directly affected by self-control and temptation. (Hassan et al., 2010), (Campos et al., 2011). The printed food labels act as an indicating tool by which food companies assure that their potential consumers are satisfied regarding to their sound quality control practices. However, there are many issues and questions related to food labeling till date, one such question has been raised around the globe which is how far the consumer is aware of printed food labeling and can they understand the provided relevant information on the package. Consumers who are more health conscious have a habit of reading the label. They prefer to purchase an item that fulfills their daily nutritional value even if the brand is of higher price than the other brands available in market. This behavior can also be applied on consumers who have medical problems such as diabetes or cholesterol. This shows that certain category of consumers is willing to pay a higher price for nutrients beneficial for them (Magistris et al., 2010). Nutritional label benefits the consumers to analyze the factors of packaged food which allow them to have a healthier diet choice. According to the mechanism of the body they can balance the amount food to consume that will help them to stay fit in long run (Drichoutis et al., 2008). The consumers in Middle East give preference to the label at the time of first purchase. A study was carried out which showed that when consumers purchase the product for the first time they read the nutrients present in the food and on latter purchase of the same food brand they check the date till which they can use the product and the date of manufacture (Washi, 2012). Consumers also take into consideration of the health claims relation to nutrition such as vitamin, protein, sugar free and etc. people believe them to be true and help them to make the decision quicker. If certain health claim is present in front they grasp the product and further read the nutrient label to know that what other good nutrients are present in it. Consumers prefer that short and easy words are used so that they can understand them easily. Moreover if the claims are approved by FDA it gives an added advantage and surety that an agency is keeping a check on companies (Williams, 2005). The consumers with the help of labeling gets to know and understand the products characteristics, nutritional properties, preservation and instructions to facilitate the consumers to make a sound decision at the time of purchase, hence it carries a great significance (Senesi et al, 2006). By identifying the factors that have an effect on the peoples use of dietary labeling, the manufacturers can do the profiling of the consumers that do or do not exercise nutritional food labeling. It can result in improving public health, manipulating the proper labeling and increasing the productivity of the company (Senesi et al, 2006). Similarly the people who have much time to spend on grocery shopping are found to be more label users (Drichoustis 2006). It can also be seen that consumers who are more anxious about their health and nutrition give more time to read the printed nutritional labels. Similarly, consumers who are on a special diet or organic buyers or even those that have any kind of disease are preferred to search for on-pack printed nutrition information (Drichoustis 2006). Type of household also holds effect on reading of printed nutritional labels, as in a case where smaller households or households with young children are more involved in nutrition information sea rch behaviors. People with a healthier profile and eating habits prefer to see glance at the printed nutritional labeling for a more appropriate knowledge of the product. Moreover printed nutritional labeling is not directly linked with price and is preferred by people following a special diet plan or with health related issues like high BP, sugar, heart diseases or any kind of food allergies (Magistris et al., 2010). Printed nutritional labeling empowers consumers to have their own view at the components of the products which enables them to have a healthier diet choice in a way which they can intake in their busy life style now a days. (Drichoutis et al., 2008). The effects of printing nutritional labeling can be even greater on the buying behavior of consumer and they can be more educated if labeling is combined with an information campaign. It has been found in the research that purchasing behavior of consumers is effected by the nutritional information present on the label because this information influence their perception about the products and thus change their decision ultimately (Drichoustis 2006). It seems like Nutritional information on the back of the package creates favorable judgments about a product. For example, when a consumer reads the nutrients content on the back of the packaged food product which are beneficial for their health they will compare that particular product with other products and will be more likely to purchase that product. Other researchers have argued that provision of health related or printed nutritional labeling information does not always lead to healthier consumption of diet. Most empirical research, however, suggests that providing printed nutritional labeling information can significantly change dietary patterns in a consumers lifestyle of eating (Drichoustis 2006). Printing of Nutritional labels is also associated with giving consumers an edge to improve their diets by intake of high vitamin C, low cholesterol, and low percentage of calories from fat as they are now able to know what exactly they are consuming. Printed nutrition labeling on packaged foods are very clear sources of nutrition information for the consumers. They are observed as a highly trustworthy source of information and many consumers use it as their guidance in order to make purchase decisions easy. (Campos et al., 2011). It is often seen that there are consumers who considers printed nutritional labeling on the products during their shopping experiences and are happy to pay even a premium on the products having printed nutritional labeling on them. (Loureiro et al., 2006). Printed nutrition labeling information lowers down the usage of products which contain harmful ingredients and increases the consumption of products containing healthy ingredients. (Drichoutis et al., 2006). Purpose of printed nutritional labeling is to educate consumers to shift to healthier food choices, and force the competitors to add more printed nutritional value in their product and to competition on nutritional quality; printed nutritional labeling represents a helpful tool making consumers make informed decisions about their diet and lifestyle. (Daud et al., 2011). Nutritional labeling enables the consumers to have a view at the components of the products which enables them to have a healthier diet choice in which they can improve their intake of the require nutritious and proteins (Drichoutis et al., 2008). Nutrition labels on pre-packaged foods are very clear sources of nutrition information. They are perceived as a highly trustworthy source of information and many consumers use their guidance in order to make purchase decisions (Campos et al., 2011). The results show that there are consumers who considers nutritional labeling on the products during their shopping experiences and are happy to pay even a premium on the products having nutritional labeling on them (Loureiro et al., 2006). Nutrition labeling information decreases the use of products containing harmful components and improves the consumption of the products containing healthy components (Drichoutis et al., 2006). Customers do consider nutritional labeling when making a purchasing decision. Especially the old age people or individuals who are sick or with a special diet recommended having at least tertiary education read nutritional labeling. Moreover households with less than four members were willing to pay more for the nutritional labels (Prathiraja et al., 2003). As a whole nutritional labeling has a huge impact on consumer purchase behavior. There is some evidence that nutrition labeling makes consumers to switch products on the name of healthy and unhealthy diet plans. The preference for nutrient intake usually depends on the demand and supply of the product. From the demand perspective, consumers interest in purchase of healthy diets directly depends on consumers intakes. Consumers ability to make a decision regarding healthy diets usually depends on the information available through different sources (PrathirajaAriyawardana, 2008). If the products does not contain label the consumer may be unaware of its nutritional contents. Consumers usually form their own belief regarding the nutritional value of the product on the basis of information that they get from different sources, However this perception usually lead to either over or under value of the nutritional labeling of the product. Choosing food usually contains a trade of between taste and health contents of a particular product have negative impact on health because individuals usually perceived that decreasing the consumption of the food can lead to improve health conditions (PrathirajaAriyawardana, 2008). The results give a clear signal that printed labels is not linked with gender and age though its consumption relates with the income levels, education and occupation of the consumers. Most lifestyle products such as breakfast cereals, readymade dressings etc. that would mostly be used by people who have relatively higher levels of income and education would pay more attention to various kinds of label information (Sushil Kumar Jabir Ali, 2011). In the context of emerging economies, very little is known regarding consumers expectations and their response to printed food label information (Wang et al., 2008). Pakistans emerging economy is witnessing exceptional boom in the organized retail growth. Its consumers are in the process of changing their consumption/buying behavior especially with respect to food items. Consumption of processed and packaged food items has grown tremendously in the recent past. There is an increase in the demand for healthy food products and with this kind of change in lifestyle and consumption pattern, the quality of food and its safety standards are becoming essential from public policy perspective. ROLE OF FDA (FOOD AND DRUG ASSOCIATION) IN NUTRIONAL LABELLING: Labeling is a part of packaging. Label can be defined as an attachment to the product but according to the Food and Drug Association (FDA), a label is the chief point of contact between the manufacturer and the purchaser. It is described as a crucial part of the manufacturers marketing plan. FDA further explains that the label should carry the name, brand name and the net weight of the product with nutrition facts along with some details of the manufacturer. These food labels increases in complexity as the food products moves from basic commodities to highly process. It therefore keeps a check of the quantity of sugar, fiber, protein that is consumed and allows the purchasers to make an informed decision of the product. (FDA,1998). food_label.jpg With the guidance of dietary health experts, consumers can utilize the nutritional labeling to make better choices and to maintain a well-balanced diet. According to FDA (1998), consumers can enjoy a variety of foods; have a hale and hearty diet with low cholesterol/fats. Take a diet with different fruits or grains and can moderate the usage of salt and/or sodium if nutrition information is practiced. Hence, it carries a relationship between the nutrients and the threat of a disease. If the packaged food products are not labeled, customers may not be aware of their nutrient content. If the consumers form their own belief about nutrient content based on advertising or their own knowledge about food, it can result in underestimation or overestimation of the food content in untagged food products (Anderson and Zarkin, 1992). Especially for prepared food products, nutritional labeling is required more often (Godwin, Henderson, Thompson, 2006). Recently Food and Drug Association (FDA) conducted a research for anticipated changes in the plan and for the usage of the current labels. Therefore, with the sample size of 160 consumers to know if they use the labeling and if so, which part of it is more useful? Almost 21% consumers said that they always examine the tagging while the majority of them told that they often use the label before purchasing the item for consumption. Component of the label most frequently read is of fats, calorie, sugar and fiber contents. The list of ingredients with the health statements were read less. Respondents using high calorie food items like chips, sodas, bakery products etc. said that that do not make use of calorie part while two thirds of them said that they use the labeling rather than relying on their food knowledge and they do understand the importance of labeling. So it can be understood that majority of the respondents use and understand the significant of nutritional labeling and perceived themselves as knowledgeable consumers but a large survey has to be conducted to find the complete awareness and the consumers indulgent. (Godwin, Henderson, Thompson, 2006). A consideration to the food tagging can influence a change in purchasing pattern that can result in improving health. (McLean 2001). FDA with its efforts of providing food information on packaged food items educates the consumers and helps them in the purchasing decision (Satia, GalankoNeuhouser, 2001). CONSUMER AWARENESS ABOUT PACKAGED FOOD PRODUCT: A study was conducted in Islamabad to identify the response of consumer buying behavior in terms of packaging and nutritional labeling. The result showed that Pakistani marketing is getting aware of the nutritional facts of a packaged product. Further, it illustrates that Consumers read the content when they buy packaged food of a particular brand. If repetition is carried out then only manufacture date and expiry date is taken into consideration. The study also found out that a lot of people only check the dates to determine the nutrients. Also, people are still unaware that how much each nutrient is desired by their body and the concept of daily consumption/per meal consumption in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle (Zaidi, 2012). Another study was conducted in our neighboring country, India on Assessing Awareness and Usage Level of Indian Consumer and Influences on Food Buying Behavior. The research show that consumer seek extended information on labels. The result showed satisfactory level of awareness about information available on labels displayed on packaged food and people just skim through the nutrient facts before purchasing the product. In the market consumers also give high value to ingredients and nutrients. Whereas the brand and taste of product is the factor that is consider more as compare to the nutritional value. if these two are liked and the nutrients present are harmful for their health even then product will be purchased (kumar, 2008). Another study conducted in Europe on consumer response to nutrition information on food labels shows that people are aware of the importance of nutrition information on packaged foods. Consumers are aware that in order to maintain a healthy life nutritional food must be taken, therefore they try to make use of the information present on the label as much as they can. However the preference among the consumer differs while purchasing the packaged food such as likeable taste and etc. Secondly consumers prefer to have a simple and easy to understand nutrition information printed on the package. Complicated information and usage of too many jargons leads to confusion and consume their time. They like if noticeable printing to highlight the information as it will catch the eye at once and will also grab the attention of the consumers who are not in the habit of reading the label. Another point that was identified in the study was related to the format of the label and the technical terms including numbers, calculations and even percentages make it difficult for the consumer to decide among the products (Grunert, 2006). Therefore it is extremely beneficial if we find out the likeable ways that grabs the attention of the consumer. The ways would differ depending upon the nature of the product. The psychology of a consumer would be kept in mind while providing the information so that it becomes noticeable and every time when she/he purchases the product reads the label. (Kremers et al. 2006). A research carried out on whether consumers look at nutrition labeling showed it depends on the demographics factors that which nutrients ( sugar, fat, calories) are preferred by the consumers and how much are they interested in reading the nutritional label (Drichoutis et al. 2006). A research paper highlighted that nutrition label on the packaged food can guide consumers to maintain and improve their diet plan and make choices among the food. The effect of nutritional information has a positive impact in switching from one product to another due to beneficial nutrients present in the food. On the other hand nutritional label also have a negative impact on the manufacturer as consumers would avoid the food products that have high content of sugar and fats present it (Nayga, 2006). Consumer search for product information is an active process that involves reading nutritional labeling and then comparing them with other products information and after evaluation of each products information a consumer makes a right decision for purchase. The main cost for a consumer in searching information through label use is the time he/she spends on reading labels; the benefits of this will be healthier food choices. Consumers that are health conscious or have poor health condition through this will be able to search for a more nutritious diet and a healthy life, thus reducing all the risk of an unhealthy diet. Consumers may be aware about the importance of nutritional labeling but time can be an obstacle for the people who have to accomplish plenty of tasks. The purchase decision of employed consumers regarding the quality of product can be low, the reason being less time to spare on labeling than the unemployed consumers who have the time to make an appropriate decision regarding the quality of food products they will purchase (Kim, Nayga Capps, 2001). People make use of the label for various purposes but consumers should be encouraged to use the label more often and create awareness on how to apply this information more efficiently and conveniently (Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition 2004). Therefore, policy makers should identify different ways on how to motivate people to change the behavior of reading nutritional labeling before purchase of the packaged product. According to the Lancaster Product Characteristics theory in 1966, the consumers are a

Brave New World: Can Man Create Utopia? :: Brave New World

Brave New World:  Ã‚   Can Man Create Utopia?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Brave New World, a novel by Aldous Huxley, was published during the time, socialism and dictatorship were the key concepts of the day. These governments believed that having total power would engender a perfect society. Karl Marx (Bernard Marx), and Nikolai Lenin (Linina), are two men who decide to pursue this concept. Through examples of these characters, it is demonstrated that a government that completely controls a nation will fail. Many of the ideas that the governments thought would contribute to success were the cause of their failure. Although technological advances, sexual promiscuity, and conformity contribute to the success of a Utopian society, these aspects are also the reason for downfall. Throughout the novel, Huxley uses Bernard Marx, a young man who is â€Å"deformed by the government† (Huxley, page #) to underline the idea that a Utopian Society cannot exist. The advancement of technology has enabled this â€Å"Utopian Society† to create human life. Although the entire society is based on technology, it remains supervised by humans. No matter how â€Å"advanced† this technology may be, if humans are directing it, mistakes will be made â€Å"They say somebody made a mistake when he was still in the bottle... and put alcohol into his blood- surrogate. That’s why he’s so stunted† (Huxley, 46). The outcome of what happened to Bernard forced him to see that mistakes were one reason a Utopian Society could not exist. The Character Bernard Marx is an example of human imperfection, not because he was referred to as deformed, but because the person who created him messed up. Individuals were decanted according to specification. Any deviation was evidently the result of some mistake, a mistake made by a human. These technological developments weren’t advanced enough to create such a perfect society. Bernard was an example of this undesired reality.   He was deemed an outcast due to his imperfection. Being an outcast, however, allowed him to see the world differently. He was able to realize how everything was being manipulated and he was able to discern that it was wrong. Bernard noticed the manipulation of Lenina. Lenina wanted to have sex with just one person, but she wasn’t allowed. â€Å"Everyone belongs to everyone else† (page #) was one of the world state’s mottoes. Sexual promiscuity eliminates emotional tension. By eliminating tension and anxiety the World State was able to better control its citizens.

Woody Allen – Annie Hall

Changes Woody Allen’s Annie Hall is a film that depicts the life of a character named Alvy Singer, a comedian who always seems nervous, is full of self-loathing, doesn‘t have a positive perspective on life, had an unhappy childhood and has been divorced twice. He knows he has problems but can’t figure out how to solve them in a dignified way so uses sex as a substitute. By the end of the film however, he shows a significant change in his outlook on life, due mostly to his recent relationship with a woman named Annie Hall.They end their relationship but Alvy learns from it, makes changes in his life, and uses it as a stepping stone into his future. The first moment where he shows change is when he compliments Annie after her first performance at a night club. She thinks she did horribly so he gives her reasons why she wasn’t as bad as she thought which cheers her up. This signifies Alvy turning a bad situation into a good one and shows confidence for the fir st time. Another moment where he shows change is his meeting with Annie in Los Angeles after they have broken up for good.He does things that he is usually reluctant to do: leaving New York City, driving a car, and eating at a health food restaurant. Although it doesn’t end like he hoped, he accepts that they aren’t going to be together any longer and doesn‘t complain, which is his usual response. In addition, he shows growth when he writes a play about his relationship with Annie, which shows their last meeting in L. A. but with an alternate ending with them together; proving that the relationship affected him enough to analyze and critique it.He views the relationship as a learning experience and uses the play to articulate his experience in a productive way, something he hasn’t done yet. Lastly, the ending of the film shows the most significant change from Alvy. He meets with Annie and seems genuinely happy to spend time with her and says he’s gl ad that he got to know her, contrary to his prior notion to have sex to solve his problems. Alvy’s first noticeable change occurs after Annie’s audition at the club.It’s her first time and she thinks that her performance was awful because the audience wasn’t paying attention and there were distractions such as microphone feedback, dropping glass, and a ringing phone. After her performance, they’re walking down the street and he cheers her up by telling her that the crowd was â€Å"a tad restless† and that she has a â€Å"wonderful voice† (42). He usually saw things in a negative light before this moment and this was the first time in the film where he turned a bad situation into a better one.This helped Annie continue her singing and she improved later because of Alvy and opened new doors for her, thanks to Alvy’s persuasion and change of view. He saw the possible relationship between them as something worthwhile and it ultimat ely led up to his transformation at the end of the movie. He makes her feel better–confident enough to brag, â€Å"Yeah, you know something? I never even took a lesson, either† (42). She accepts his support and Alvy realizes he would need to support her through rough times to keep the relationship rolling.And it meant that he would have to adjust his views and habits to keep her happy. They both changed a little in this scene with both of them being more positive toward bleak situations and Alvy bringing benefits out of this situation. After this, he convinces her to kiss him saying that it will â€Å"digest their food better† (43). Maybe he said this joke just to have sex with Annie (which he does in a few scenes) and wouldn’t be much of a change. But he wanted to be in a long term relationship because he told Annie that he wouldn’t let her quit singing.He foresaw that he could help her become a better person and maybe figure himself out along the way, reiterating that he was aware of his problems and wanted to change his ways. After they break up and Annie moves to Los Angeles, Alvy takes the initiative for the first time and flies to L. A. from New York City to try and convince her to marry him. He rents a car to see her and when he tells her this on the phone, she seems surprised causing Alvy to say â€Å"What-why is that such a miracle? † (97).He isn’t fond of California and despises driving so it’s obvious that he wants to be with Annie because he’s doing things he that he usually doesn’t and tries new things to get what he wants. Even Annie notices the change because she knows that Alvy doesn’t like driving. He fights to get back with Annie, a noteworthy change for a man who has been divorced twice and uses sex to relieve his problems. When Alvy arrives at a health food restaurant, he tells the waitress â€Å"I’m gonna . . . I’m gonna have the alfalfa sprouts and , uh, a plate of mashed yeast† (97). It’s a very dd combination, but his choice proves that he was willing to try new things to be with Annie. He figures that he has to make adjustments in his own life in order to better suit Annie’s way of life. But they immediately start bickering with Annie vehemently saying â€Å"Alvy, you’re incapable of enjoying life, you know that? I mean your life is New York City. You’re just this person. You’re like this island unto yourself† (98). Alvy then stutters on but doesn’t say anything coherent, her words hitting him like two tons of bricks, knowing that what she said was true.He knows that his problems are unlike other people’s. He knows that he has to change his negative perspective on life if he ever wants to be with Annie or get into any other meaningful relationship. He knows that no one knows him like Annie. So he accepts her criticism for the first time and takes her words into c onsideration. He realizes he would have to stop living â€Å"self-consciously in his own world of illusion† (Conard 109). The play Alvy is directing about his rendezvous with Annie in Los Angeles indicates that he used their relationship to his advantage and now understands himself better.He writes what really happens until he makes his character say â€Å"Okay, if that’s all that we’ve been through together means to you, I guess it’s better if we just said goodbye, once and for all! † (102). Although it may seem immature of him to change the ending to end on his own terms, it proves that he knew that he could’ve acted better instead of arguing with Annie the entire time. That moment was monumental in his transformation and is still working it out in his head. He also changed the last scene to end in his favor with Annie saying â€Å"Wait! I’m-I’m gonna . . go with you† and â€Å"I love you†(102). This shows growt h in Alvy because he is expressing his heartbreak in a healthy manner instead of feeling sorry for himself. Also, changing the ending suggests that he knows he can control his life now that he has a better perspective on it. In reality though, she told Alvy that she didn’t love him so he makes her say it to envision how he would have liked it to end, on his own terms and with his own decisions. After this scene he looks at the audience and says â€Å" Tsch, whatta you want? It was my first play.You know, you know how you’re always tryin’ t’ get things to come out perfect in art because, uh, it’s real difficult in life† (102). He knows that he’s changed but still has some work to do in order to get the ending he wants. His life isn’t perfect and uses the play to figure himself out and is still using that relationship to become a better person. He’s now able to reflect on his mistakes and turn them around to work for him. The final part of Alvy’s transformation is shown when he runs into Annie in New York and they go out for lunch.After lunch, they â€Å"shake hands and kiss each other friendly like† (105). Their prior encounter ended in disarray and she wouldn’t have kissed him if she didn’t have a good time this time around. It can be interpreted that Alvy has changed for the better and Annie has noticed this change, causing the friendly kiss. He then exclaims â€Å"I realized what a terrific person she was and-and how much fun it was just knowing her† (105). She was the first woman that he came across that he actually appreciated rather than use for sex.He’s glad that he got to know her because she helped him change his perspective on relationships from lust and sex to just having a partner who can make him better himself. It’s clear that he views relationships differently when he tells his last joke, this guy goes to a psychiatrist and says ‘ Doc, uh, my brother’s crazy. He thinks he’s a chicken. ’ And, uh, the doctor says, ‘Well, why don’t you turn him in? ’ And the guy says, ‘I would, but I need the eggs. ’ Well, I guess that’s pretty much how I feel about relationships. You know, they’re totally irrational and crazy and absurd and . . but, uh, I guess we keep goin’ through it because, uh, most of us need the eggs. (105) He realizes that we all go through the tribulations of relationships because of what lies at the end of the road. It may be positive or negative and in Alvy’s case, it turned out that it made him a better person. He now knows how to handle a relationship and knows that it’s not all about him. After dealing with his problems, he learns that the aftermath can benefit him. Annie Hall may be a romantic comedy, but we can use it to help ourselves.According to Michael Castrignano’s biography on Allen, he was divor ced twice before the release of this movie, similar to Alvy. Alvy used to be a negative person who didn’t want to solve his problems but after a bad situation, turned his life around. He learned how to turn a negative into a positive, that he has to take the initiative, how to express himself instead of feeling sorry, and that relationships can’t be all about sex. Perhaps Allen used Alvy to help himself and we in turn can use Alvy as an example on how to deal with our problems.We may not necessarily have the same types of problems but we can make turn a negative into a positive. He reflected on the whole situation and used it to change his views on life. We all go through bad times but if we change our perspectives on certain things, we can usually benefit from it. Works Cited Castrignano, Michael. â€Å"Biography for Woody Allen. † IMDb. 2010. 25 March 2010 Conard, Mark T. , ed. , and Aeon J. Skoble, ed. Woody Allen and Philosophy: You Mean My Whole Fallacy is Wrong? Peru: Open Court, 2004. Four Films of Woody Allen. New York: Random House, 1982.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) Lawyers

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) Lawyers Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Social Security Disability Oftentimes,  Social Security  and even some adjudicators fail to understand the severity of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), making it even more difficult for individuals who suffer from the disorder to obtain benefits they desperately need and deserve. Even some health care providers are skeptical about the diagnosis with the notion that CFS is a psychogenic illness or even a â€Å"figment of the patient’s imagination.†(1)   CFS can be difficult to diagnose and treat as there is no specific test or cure for the condition, resulting in wrong diagnoses and even treatment. However, CFS has been known to cause a severe impairment and disability, precluding individuals from caring for themselves and working even the simplest job. According to the Mayo Clinic, there are 8 official signs and symptoms of CFS: fatigue; loss of memory or concentration; unexplained muscle pain; pain that moves from one joint to another without swelling or redness; headache of a new type, pat tern or severity; sore throat; enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or armpit; un-refreshing sleep; and extreme exhaustion lasting more than 24 hours after physical or mental exercise (2).Scientists still don’t know the exact causes of CFS, but some factors affecting the disorder include congenital predisposition, viral infections, immune system problems, and hormonal imbalances. Moreover, other medical conditions like depression, increased work absences, social isolation and lifestyle restrictions that sometimes accompany the disorder can, in turn, exacerbate these symptoms. Treatment for CFS tends to focus on providing relief for the specific symptoms on a case-by-case basis. For example, antidepressants may be prescribed if the patient is experiencing depression as one of their symptoms, and/or a medication to assist with sleep if that is an issue. However, therapy that combines psychological counseling with a gentle exercise program has been found to be the most effective in providing overall symptomology relief (3).A new report from an expert committee of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reveals how severe and disabling CFS can be (4). IOM points out that CFS â€Å"is a serious, chronic, complex, multi-system disease that often can profoundly limit the health and activities of affected patients.† In their report, IOM proposes new diagnostic criteria and a new name for CFS: Systemic Exertional Intolerance Disease (5). They believe that this new name will help resolve the unnecessary stigmatization and trivialization that oftentimes accompany the CFS diagnosis.If you have CFS, or experience these symptoms, call us today to talk with one of our experienced attorneys about whether you may qualify for disability benefits. We understand how frustrating and disabling these symptoms and the stigma can be, making the application and appeal process even more overwhelming. Our  attorneys  strive to master the ever-changing rules governing disability ben efits so that we can best advocate for our clients.  Call us  today at 888-678-5839 for a free consultation.Seeiom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2015/MECFS/MECFS_Powerpoint.pdf.Seemayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-fatigue-syndrome/basics/symptoms/con-20022009.According to the Mayo Clinic.  Seemayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-fatigue-syndrome/basics/treatment/con-20022009. Alternative avenues for pain relief may also include acupuncture, massage, yoga, or tai chi.‘Beyond Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Redefining an Illness.’The full report with supplemental materials is available at:  iom.edu/Reports/2015/ME-CFS.aspx.The new diagnostic criteria proposed would require the patient to have the following symptoms: 1. a substantial reduction or impairment in the ability to engage in pre-illness levels of occupational, educational, social, or personal activities, that persists for more than 6 months and is accompanied by fatig ue, which is often profound, is of new or definite onset (not lifelong), is not the result of ongoing excessive exertion, and is not substantially alleviated by rest; 2. post-exertional malaise; and 3. un-refreshing sleep. Further, a cognitive impairment and/or orthostatic intolerance would also be required by the new proposed criteria. The severity and frequency of these symptoms should also be considered according to the IOM.

Who is the Greatest Sinner in essays

Who is the Greatest Sinner in essays Who is the Greatest Sinner in The Scarlet Letter? There are many sins committed in the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn, including many counts of adultery, witchcraft, and hatred. Despite the others wrongdoing, one person stands out. Chillingworth is the greatest sinner in the novel. Websters defines sin as the "neglect of the laws of morality and religion." The basis for the argument for the two other sinners in the book thrives off of their adultery. The reason these two cannot be called the greatest sinners is because they admitted and repented their sins. The Bible, the holy book the Puritans studied, told that if they repent their transgression, they will be forgiven. Both Dimmesdale and Hester admitted their sins to the community and more importantly to their God. During their mortal lives, Hester is punished her entire life with the letter and Dimmesdale punishes himself by depriving himself of treatment and nourishment. The sinner in the book who never prays to his Lord for forgiveness should stand out as the greatest sinner. The sins committed by Mr. Chillingworth include his utter need for revenge. He is absolutely evil. He seems to torture poor Dimmesdale while he lives with him. He taunts him when he speaks of some leaves he found near a gra ve; "They grew out of his heart, and typify it may be, some hideous secret that was buried with him, and which he had done better to confess during his lifetime.(pg131)" When he realizes that Dimmesdale is the adulterer that hes been looking for, his face is twisted with joy and pure evil. Hawthorne describes the reaction of Chillingworth after he sees the mark; "Riotously manifest by the extravagant gestures with which he threw up his arms towards the ceiling, and stamped his foot upon the floor! Had a man seen old Roger Chillingworth, at that moment of his ecstasy, he would have had no need to ask how Satan comports himself, w...

How to Change The world

How to Change The world Free Online Research Papers According to some management guru’s change is a permanent feature in our lives or in the life span of organisations. Change is an inevitable phenomenon. There is no choice in having change. You may choose to have change in your personal life. You may be forced to change in your life patterns. Change may happen to you when you are unconscious. Changes take place in organisations; it may be as a result of premeditated and pre-planned actions. Change may come due to natural phenomenon, for example through a volcanic eruption. All what is acceptable is that change takes place always, either through conscious planning or through evolving conditions. Jackson and McKergaw (2002:3) say, â€Å"Change is happening all the time: our job is to identify and amplify useful change.† This quotation shows how permanent change is to us and the world we live; and how it is necessary to initiate change in the world. In this discussion the writer focuses on planned changes in our organisat ions or communities, changes that affect a large scale of people, change whose impact affects many people and last long, whose effect may take generations while still being felt. The change to be discussed is not due to scientific innovations or through natural experimentation but through social innovation. It is the change that affects our patterns of thinking and our ways of doing things. It is a change that affects the fabrics of our social existence. Some scholars have come to call it social entrepreneurships. By social it means it affects the way people live and the way people do things. According to Wikipedia.com says † a social entrepreneur is some one who recognises a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create and manage a venture to make social change.† It seems as if this discussion is drifting in void. To end this void let us put practical examples of social problems which could be solved through social innovations. Examples of social problems are poor accommodation or non-availability of accommodation, existence of diseases in our community, HIV/AIDS pandemic, non-availability of water and other sanitation problems, shortage of food, poor communication system, illiteracy, lack of clothing, poor road systems, poor sporting and recreational facilities. Let us consider an example of a social innovation that could have been used to solve a social problem. The emergence of HIV/AIDS disease means a break down in family structures. In some cases both parents die, and a family is left being headed by the eldest child. The elde st child could be a fifteen year old school boy. How could such wide spread social problem be solved? The creation of a net work to assist child-headed family can be instituted. For example a trust fund could be introduced to assist such families with food, clothes and school fees. That is a social innovation. What is the aim of social entrepreneurship? The aim according to Wikipedia.com is to meet social and environmental goals. Whereas we have looked at an example of a social problem we can now, give an example of an environmental goal. An environmental goal could be to eradicate or reduce land pollution in a certain community. Let us take an example of a work community where plastics are an end product and below standard plastics are thrown away. What could be down as a solution? The solution could be recycling such a waste product. The local residents could be paid for collecting such waste paper, what could be termed waste paper vending. Such plastics could be sold to other industries that mostly use waste plastics. Another example of environmental management goal could be the planting trees in water ways. If water ways are left unattended gullies could develop and valuable soil washed away. These are examples of social goals and social entrepreneurship. Most of the work done by non- governmental organisations (NGOs) is viewed as social entrepreneurship. Probably it could be wise to look at an example of a renowned social entrepreneur. One of them is mother Theresa. She is renowned for championing the cause of children and humanity by her invention. She did all she could do to advance the interest of the poor. Organisations such as the international Red Cross are a product of social entrepreneurship. United Nations and its agencies is a by-product of social entrepreneurship. So far we have looked at examples of social problems and examples of innovative solutions, but we have to look at what is called social innovation. According to the Wikipedia.com, a social innovation refers to,† new strategies, concepts and organisations that meet the social needs of all kinds.† Again the Wikipedia .com sited the following as social problems: â€Å"working conditions, education, community development, health, micro-credit and distance learning.† In this particular instance and according to the Wikipedia.com, an example of a s ocial innovation is distance education. So, for example, the existence of AIU is as a result of social innovation. And all students like me are gaining from a social innovation. What could the world be without distance and currently on line education? Why was distance education and on line education introduced? It was out of a need to meet the education demands of the financially disadvantaged population of the world, probably what CK Prakalad would call â€Å"Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP).† Probably one more concept we need to dwell on is the one of capital venture. Social Venture capital, according to the Wikipedia.com, means, â€Å"capital investment that provides capital to businesses deemed socially and environmentally responsible.† In simple terms it means money and resources that are set aside to be used to solve social and environmental problems. The problem with many people is to think that it is only the duty of rich multi-national companies or billionaires to assist in this respect. No! It should be a challenge and a concern of every citizen and corporate organisation of the world. A lot of individuals could donate whatever they can to assist in the achievement of such noble goals. There are a lot of trust funds that are created, where individuals could contribute. We look forward to the future where every one must be socially responsible. If every citizen of the world could set aside US 1$dollar per month towards averting the impact of global warming, what could the impact be in a year’s time? The idea of social responsibility should permeate within the mind of every one and all of us whether we are the poor, the rich or the CEO of rich multinational companies. With that the world will be a better place, should I borrow Michael Jackson’s own words. Let’s look further at the impacts and aspects of social entrepreneurship in more detail than before, point by point. The visible impact of social change must transcend over large areas, being it geographic, ethnic or racial. In other words the impact must affect a large cross-section of the population. It must affect a reasonable segment of a targeted group. By the term targeted group, we refer to the people in the same or similar circumstances who need assistance in a certain way. An example could be people between the age of eighteen years and twenty-four who may need to attend undergraduate courses. Among this target group there are many people who need financial assistance to further their studies irrespective of their race, place of origin, place of residence, among other considerations. Unaffordability of education presents a big social problem. Global sponsorship may be an innovation that is large enough in scale to be a social innovation. Almost all reputable universit ies offer either grants or scholarship as a means of assisting the socially- disadvantaged group. For example AIU has assisted many such needy students over the years. In the same area there is the new innovation of The University of The People. The University of the People based in the United States is an innovation targeted at the said target group. It is the first tuition free university. It was founded under the guidance and assistance of GAID-an arm of the United Nations. The scope of this innovation is international. This fulfils what Briskin (2009) talked about when he/she described the effect that people need to be part of settings where kindness towards other needy people is cultivated; to give others consideration and helpful hand. The other aspect of social innovation is caring. A social problem is identified. A solution is sought because you care about those affected. Caring and concern are the key concern of social entrepreneurs- others choose to call them philanthropists. These are people who are there to assist others not because they need to gain anything out of it, but to assist others. The underlying motive of care and concern is towards other fellow human beings ‘problems and plights. This should never a concern of a few richest people. Many people must be involved. Heath (2004: 4) says, â€Å"Social reality is construed by many voices† again there is a need for social entrepreneurship in corporate organisations. This has called for the creation of the Welfare Departments, community development projects and safety, health and environmental management (SHE) departments. As responsible social and human resources practioners, in particular we must be highly motivated and responsible for the s ocial problems our workers face. As a human Resources Manager I must not assist the workers because it is my duty, but because they are fellow human beings who are vulnerable and who need help. At enterprise level the introduction of a revolving fund; catering for loans, sickness, among other social problems is a social innovation. At Chipinge Banana Company, located in Zimbabwe we introduced many welfare projects. These projects are co-funded by the company and the workers. The workers are the share holders in these projects. What it means is that the workers have a big say in running the projects and in the use of the funds. Therefore, the company becomes more responsive to the needs of the workers. This is currently a unique innovation in our province. And several companies have followed our example. Again the creation of the posts such as Community Liaison Officer, Safety, Health and Environmental Manager; and Safety, Health and Environmental Committees at the workplace is a soc ial response to social problems. As human resources professionals we must champion the causes of social entrepreneurship. Other senior personnel such as the General Managers, Directors, production Managers must get seriously involved at a corporate level. After discussing caring as a characteristic of social entrepreneurship, let’s shift our attention to shift in government patterns. There is need to shift government patterns. By this we mean the way things are being run. There is need to adopt newer systems of doing things. Bureaucracy is a disease that affects may institutions. There is need to decentralise decision making and operations if institutions have to respond urgently, effectively and efficiently to current challenges in the social field. The motto â€Å"That’s what we used to do† must be changed. The world is dynamic and that’s why the way we govern or do things must change. One way in which the world has evolved greatly in the twenty-first century pertains to democracy. In Change your Operational System(2010) the writer says about democracy,† Today’s leading management espouse the need to give employees more autonomy, more opportunities to fully engage in their work, and more cho ice about how they want to work in order to benefit both the employee and the employer.† The principles of democracy have encroached all spheres of our lives. The patriarchal period is over. The period of dictatorship in national governance is over. There is now participative management and governance. In the country there are now elections to choose the leaders we want. There are constitutional procedures for removing despots. A leader must be responsive to the needs of the people. Even in the family the time for the father to dictate every thing is over. The father has to consult. At work the manager has to consult, has to survey and respond accordingly. So to respond to the needs of those people involved we need to consult and involve them. With that, positive and meaningful change takes place. I am a typical fan of AIU’s policy and system of andragogy. The student is the master choice maker in what he/she wants to study. That has been a shift from the traditional an d that underlines a shift in government of education. So, in order to achieve social solutions there is need for flexibility in the way we run and do business, including the ways we respond to social problems. No wonder why the Writer of Change your Operating System says,† Democracy is what creates the optimal conditions for learning, motivation, self-direction and a sense of ownership.† The sense of ownership makes everyone involved in introducing a social change to give everything in terms of effort and dedication. About the power and effect of democracy the writer of Change your Operating system gives the case study of DaVita. The writer says,† DaVita’s management team understood the power of employee voice in creating lasting transformation and a sense of ownership.† It is not only the shift in governance that is vital, but a shift in behavioural patterns is also necessary in order to have meaningful social change. There is an old adage that says:† You can take a horse to the river but you can not force the horse to drink.† This saying emphasis the need for change in behaviour. It is the horse at the river which should drink the water. The horse must be willing. If it is not willing no drinking can take place. The effort is wasted. So the people involved must have an attitude that is suitable for change, certain willingness. The willingness to change must be based, as well, on motivation. As a leader motivate your subordinates to change. If you are the community leader is as persuasive as possible if you need to achieve a social innovation. You need not to think and behave in a straight line. You do not need to wear a straight jacket. Be ready to change as the weather changes. We have one social challenge the writer talked about at th e beginning of this discussion that is the HIV? AIDS pandemic. The answer to curb this problem is in behaviour change .If you used to have unprotected sex; you need to change to use protection such as condoms. The willingness to change and the actual behaviour change is a requisitive in social innovation. Let us look at a particular example. Let us say you are in the business of making charcoal from timber. Your current site means that the smoke goes to the nearest residential area. However it is expensive to relocate the factory. What should a social entrepreneur do? Is he worried about the cost or be worried about serving the affected people? Although it is expensive to relocate, the willingness to change is based on your perception of the problem at hand. A social responsive manager will change the location of the plant. He must not only make the plans to change, or calculate the cost, he must implement the change at all cost. A social entrepreneur must have the guts to change be haviours that he or she feels must be changed to meet the people’s needs. The willingness to change and the actual behaviour changing action is important. Gallan (2010:1) says,† Transformation can only occur through behavioural evolution.† The word evolution implies a slow pace at which changes is cemented until the solution becomes a norm. Once a solution has been implanted, soon it will become a norm and it becomes cost-effective. Gilboa (2010) says that once a changed phenomenon becomes a norm it lasts and it becomes much lower in cost. Making a social change is not a simple task. It takes time. It needs patience. Change must be made in manageable steps, not in large leaps at a time. For real change to evolve there must be a suitable time frame. Such a concept is also found elsewhere in nature. If you are a builder and you want to build a strong concrete, you do not applied excessive heat so that the concrete dries quickly. If there is, much heat the concrete cracks. Even in normal room temperature a good builder puts water on the concrete so that, the concrete dries slowly. The slower it takes the stronger the concrete becomes. That is what happens in introducing a social change. The social entrepreneur needs to take ample time to time out and implement the change. In due course the change becomes a norm. A social consultant or a social entrepreneur must possess certain fundamental attributes or dispositions. Such an attitude or disposition must not be purely a borne in thing. Some people are born social entrepreneurs but many others are taught and conditioned to be such. Educational programs such as those undertaken at AIU can assist people to be socially responsible, and responsive to the needs of other fellow human beings. It is a core duty of educators, activist, philosophers, psychologists and writers to disseminate the awareness and consciousness of the necessity to assist to others. Just like how an individual is taught the skills and resilience needed in writing or creative work, people can be trained and conditioned to be social entrepreneurs. One essential thing for a person to assist others to have proper vision. Answers.com defines vision as,† unusual competence in discernment or perception, intelligent foresight.†So the ability to focus on what best to do in the future is important. Focus on the problem, focus on how the problem could be solved, focus on the impact of the solution to the beneficiary; and act according to that focus. The vision can be expressed explicitly through a statement of the vision. Most companies and organisation write down their vision. Vision can also be shown through the organisation’s mission. We have an example of a social program that was put up to find solution to specified social problems. Empowerment prog.org says about their mission, â€Å"The mission of The Empowerment Program is to provide education, employment assistance, housing referrals and support services to women who are in disadvantaged positions due to poverty, incarceration, homelessness, HIV/AIDs infection or involvement in criminal justice system†. Here the vision of the linked organisation is clearly spelt. In this mission the scope of social problems that needs solution has been named as abject poverty, criminal justice system among others. So the social entrepreneur must have a vision and capacity to assist humanity through the provision of needed facilities or the improvement and maintenance of sustainable ecological system. A personal social background can make someone such an entrepreneur or an educational background and awareness is needed. A person can be conditioned to have a feeling of empathy towards others. This could be done through awareness campaigns or creative artistic work such as films, poetry or music. There are different ways in which awareness can be done. Awareness through education, through face to face discussions. Awareness through creative work. Gallan (2010) talked about the importance of education in order to assist in effecting change. There may be need for educational and training background for some to be an entrepreneur. A detailed course work, theoretical and practical assignment can assist. The AIU vision and tutorial programs have such an objective. The power of media and awareness prog rams are vital. Human rights activists and other non-governmental organisation have a role to spread such awareness. The writers have also a role to play in creating awareness. It is therefore a role that must be played by various parties to assist in development of social entrepreneurship. Managers can create awareness programs and assign certain personnel with the responsibility to conduct training sessions to conscientise the other workers on the aspect of social responsibilities. Involvement on a corporate level on social programmes and social activities will assist employees to be socially responsible citizens. Through that organisations can mentor people who will assist in changing the world for the better. The other characteristic of social entrepreneurs is a life commitment to initiate social solutions to mankind‘s social problems. If an individual has identified a social problem he wishes to solve he/she must be dedicated to deal with that problem not for a short space of time, but for a long period and ideally his entire life. An example could be the story and struggle of Martin Luther King who gave his entire life to make needed social and religious change over a long period of time. What he achieved has affected the lives of many people down to our times. Mother Theresa was a dedicated nun who worked tirelessly for her entire life to assist the poor. These people were sensitive to the people’s needs. Citing similar example of sincerity and consciousness for humanity, Rundle (2010) expressed himself as having been sensitive to what the community would enjoy. Another important attribute of a person who is truly devoted to assisting in changing the lives of people through identification of social problems and then come up with lasting solutions is willingness to self-correct. When you have started on a long journey sometimes you will have to discover ways of dealing with challenges that you come along on the way. You should not wait for other people to correct you all the times. You may have to discover short cuts or you may have to discover ways of conserving the resources that you have. The ideas are that you have to observe things that around you, and take advantage of them so that you will afford to reach your destination. You may need to discover the right pace to travel so that you do not easily get tired. The idea is that you do not need just to be told everything, but you need to discover on your own and make rightful decisions and changes so as to suit to the conditions around you. The scientists would use the terms observe and a dapt in order to survive. In this discussion we can call this self-correction.Encyclopedia.com defines self-correction as, â€Å"correcting oneself without external help.† So as you try to find a solution to a social problem, you come against some challenges, and most of these challenges require you to find solutions yourself. Why this is important is because on such issues you may not have many people who initially support you. If you rely mainly on outside help you may be discouraged by other people, who may be pessimistic or who may not see your vision at the start of your project. An example where self correction is vital is when we set out a revolving fund at Chipinge Banana Company. The revolving fund was used to start fundraising projects. When the idea was borne and put forward to other people many people were against the idea of employees having to contribute towards their own welfare. In this project every interested employee was supposed to pay $1 per, month. A revolving fund committee was put in place. Initially, about 10% of the employees were interested and subsequently got involved. About 98% of other senior management staff was against this idea. At first they said that it was not a working idea, and suspected that the person who had started the project had a hidden agenda either to defraud the people or to have a personal financial gain. And that is the idea that can be found if a person wanted to solve a critical social problem. When the problem took off the ground those who were initially against, when they saw that it seemed to have been succe ssful they became jealousy and tried to influence most employees against it. So where a new idea is implemented there is usually resistance. Instead of people assisting with ideas and resources they resist the purported change. That is the reason why a social entrepreneur must correct himself or herself; relying on outside help may lead to resistance and criticism that can ultimately lead to failure. Many people will only assist you or join you when they are convinced beyond doubt that the innovation is definitely helpful. In the example sighted above of the revolving fund, many of the people who initially resisted later supported the idea and rendered assistance. So self-reliance and self-correcting are vital attributes of the people who want to initiate and institute change. Another essential attribute of people who want to bring social innovation is that of wishing to share credit. To be able to succeed in introducing change one needs as much support from as many people as possible. The people who get involved need credit for their support. In order to succeed in introducing change you have to be self-less or selfish-less. You need to consult widely; you need encouragement and support. For you to be able to achieve this you really need to make people to feel that the project is theirs and that their involvement is vital. So the credit needs to be shared. The success needs to be shared as much as you share the problem. One of the principles of change management is to involve as many people as possible, as long as those people are willing and committed. To achieve this some people who create change make use of committees. In order to share the credit and involve as many people as possible, in the introduction of the revolving fund, a commit was selected. Hitchcok (2008) emphasized the need to create self-directed teams and to consult as much as possible in order to implement change that affect and benefit many people. The principles of using committees and people participation were taken seriously at Chipinge Banana Company when they introduced the revolving fund. These committees brought about a lot of involvement. No wonder why Degraff (2007) emphasised that there is always need to select diverse and insightful individuals to join the leadership teams as participants in the† think tank† process Most people who were represented in the committee became committed to the change. In the committee, a cross-section of the employees was involved; women of various ages and from various work departments, men were recruited from various backgrounds, age and professions as well as from various work units. This brought up a big sense of ownership and the credit was not brought to the person who brought the idea, but to all the peo ple who were involved including a lot of the workers who were willing to part with their money. The idea is that those who are involved in social changes must do it to help the communities where they stay, not to help themselves materially or otherwise .On this Heath (2004:4) says,† analysis of dialogue surrounding a crisis can be sharpened by giving attention to the narrative elements that emerge as various groups interpret the crisis† When a person wants to initiate and develop a solution to a social problem, that person must be able to borrow ideas from different fields and interact with people of various backgrounds, profession and trades. For example to implement successful social change you need to have a rich background on various fields. You may need to understand accounting principles because you shall deal with finances, you need knowledge of economics because you may need investment to fund the projects, you may need to have knowledge of legal issues, and you need principles borrowed from sociology and psychology to deal with people. You must be a mult-disciplinarian. Robinson (2008) explained that learning should transcend across various disciplines for it to be most beneficial. Not that you have to study all these subjects at University but you need to consult. I attended a certain seminar that was based on environmental management one year. I was a teacher and a participant in the seminar. The first p rinciples that people were taught there was the principle of de-roling. By De-roling it means people need to stop considering the positions in the companies or institutes where they come from. Some people were teachers, others were students, others were managers, and others were simple people from the community. People, who were there had to ignore their roles. So in other words there were no longer managers, teachers, students or community members. All those who were there were the same. That was important and that is still important. If there is no de-rolling students would not participate actively they would leave everything to be done and said by influential people such as managers. Failure to de-roll would mean very little involvement. This all calls for a mult-disciplinary approach to solving social problems. I saw people involved in social issues such as HIV/AIDS. This needs people who have an open view and who apply knowledge and skills gained from various areas. At a corpor ate level when you want to introduce social changes you need to stop thinking that you are a manager and that your decision – as a manager- are better than the decision of a general hand worker. Where committees work it has been seen that brilliant ideas may not come from CEOs, or Managers, but some times from general workers. In the revolving fund committee that has been discussed earlier on a number of brilliant ideas came from the general workers. Those ideas were implemented and the results were excellent. This however does not suggest that good ideas come from uneducated, simple people only. The point is that in brainstorming and surfing ideas we have to open and not accept ideas on the consideration of a person’s qualifications or position in the society. The other essential aspect of introducing successful social change is to involve those whom are affected by the change or the program. What we are talking about here is empowerment of those who are affected by the proposed changes. Give the people involved the power to make their own decisions and to get actively involved. According to Joe.org, â€Å"empowerment is a social a multi-dimensional process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is a process that fosters power in people for use in their own lives, communities and in their society.† So people must make decisions their own decisions where the proposed changes affect them. This brings on to them a sense of ownership. Even in the event of things not working according to the plan, these people will not shift the blame on the person proposing the change. The difficulties faced will be solved as a group again. This will also foster a spirit of resilience. A sense of ownership is a very powerful motivating factor to people. No one wants to see what she/he has worked for to fail. As many people are involved in a project there is going to be a lot of brainstorming and innovation when a problem presents itself before them. No projects or changes are without challenges. However the power of togetherness will make it easy to overcome difficulties. In the case of the earlier quoted revolving fund, at one time there was problem when we ran out of funds, but because we engaged many people from the onset, those who were involved worked hard so that we had increased membership and subsequently improved inflow of income. In this discussion there has been the example of the revolving fund. This example is suitable as it meets the criteria of a social change. Firstly the vision for the introduction of the fund was to assist all employees of Chipinge Banana Company who at one time have problems that the company could not provide assistance towards. This involves assisting parents with fees for their children, assistance towards bereavement, assistance towards any social problems the committee feels it warrants assistance .The focus of the fund is that, the fund shall run as long as the company exists and will assist workers for generations. It is a change that affects many people. This innovation has already been applied in companies that are around the place. Despite the fact that the fund was introduced about a year ago it is being a case study for many companies and even communities around. The other essential thing is that there has been a fundamental paradigm shift. It was unheard of in our country that workers would champion their own welfare through a common fund. The fund can also be used to sponsor training workshops especially in issues of HIV/AIDs and safety issues at the work place. So it is a typical example to use in this discussion to exemplify the practicality of what is discussed here as it relates to the planning and implementation of social change. Although this is a small scale social change it is a sample for other major social changes. As for the Human Resources Manager in the said company and for the other managers and personnel it has been an n essential hands-on example of how to institute change. For the proposer of this innovation there has been a conscious way to follow the learned parameters and theories of managing change. The knowledge and skills acquired will be essential for future consulting in change management. In the video watched there has been a case study of empowerment of the participants involved in the introduction and evolvement of the proposed changes. In this case the empowered people were the children that were the beneficiary of the child line service in India. That practical case brought a significant impetus on the idea of managing a social change. If in this project the affected children were greatly involved, what about circumstances in which we introduce changes that affect the adults or the educated population. It clearly demonstrates the importance and practicality of involving the affected people, no matter who they are, what their status is, where their live and what their backgrounds might be. This involvement is important in work place settings as well. The management team must involve the grassroots workers to be involved; their views on matters that affect them must be taken into consideration, and be greatly applied. It is great learning to us Human Resources perso nnel to involve the workers in issues that affect them. This has a big impact not only in motivating the workers but in creating a loyal, reliable, responsible and stable work force. At Chipinge Banana Company, a very stable company in terms of employee relations, the workers are highly involved. In most issues that affect them there is the use of committees. There are committees in sports teams, health and safety, HIV/AIDS awareness programmes, during end of year parties, among many other such instances. And the great results are that you create a stable work force. Again in the same company there is the open door policy on dealing with employee problems. The managers, the supervisors and forepersons are taught to deal with employee problems at any time and at any place. Employees must not wait to come to the offices assistance. The Human Resources Manager moves from place to place during the work days to hear the workers’ grievances and problems. I know the system is unique but it has also a unique way of making the workers happy and the work force stable. Social innovations by their nature must not be very expensive. These must be cost effective. The reason is that there might be very few people who are willing to put in their monies there, just for the sake of assisting others. The issue here is to have small investments that sustain some social projects, rather than waiting for a time when there is a large sum of money. However with this small investment there must be great courage to ensure that the projects or changes succeed. It is the power of vision, courage and resilience that must be at work most in order to achieve and sustain a social innovation. Penton.com (2010:1) emphasised that the key to change is the nature of the innovation, its scope and applicability rather than the amount of funds required to invest in it. In its explanation it says,† innovation of your products, processes and services will be key to delivering results.† In the example of The Revolving fund, under discussion, the amount of initial capi tal injection was very small. For the first three months there was a cash inflow of US $80 per month only; however that amount kick started a project that is now after about a year has a capital of about $8000.00 and which has assisted more than 500 people in all. So it is the vision and courage that is of great essence to achieve great social innovations. The video demonstrated the importance to impart and use soft skills. Soft skills are qualitative aspects that are essential for the success of projects. These are qualities that are not measurable but are essential .These are opposed to aspects of projects that are quantifiable. Money used to effect change can be quantifiable, the number of people involved in the projects is quantifiable, some resources such as motor vehicles involved can be quantifiable, but there are certain traits and characteristics that are essential for success of the innovations that are not numerable. In the video presentation, listening skill has been identified as a soft skill that is essential for social innovation to succeed. People involved in the projects must listen carefully to different points of view that come from the people involved. From listening then the people involved deduce the implication then later apply what is implied. Other soft skills which we can talk about include the communication s kills, interpersonal relations, mutual trust among others. Heath (2004:4) says, â€Å"Communication is a corporate strategy for dealing with a major business interruption.† In this case Heath emphasizes the importance of communication in business and social spheres. The change agent must also have core value that globally acceptable. Such values as integrity, creativity, multi-skilling, problem solving, inquiry, flexibility accountability and transparency among others. He/she must be able to use the principles of good governance. The innovators and consultants must have such basic skills in order to be able to implement the proposed changes. Another essential aspect is of ethical considerations. If you want to implement social changes you must have a high sense of ethics. You have to know what is just to the people and the community. Know what is good to all and what is acceptable. It is not considering the legal and economical aspects only that are important. Have a wider understanding of the community around where you are making the change and what is moral and acceptable to that area. This again calls for an interdisciplinary approach to introducing social innovations. Ethics are associated with certain disciplines which a social entrepreneur must be acquainted with, such as public relations, religious orientation or understanding social science principles. If you introduce something that is not morally acceptable in that area you wont succeed. If you introduce something that is a taboo in that area then you can not succeed. This calls for a lot of research before you come up with your innovations. The idea of consult ing and empowering the people affected come handy in this regard as well. So on the other hand the social consultant must develop a lot of research skills and knowledge and use that before introducing any changes or programs in a certain area. The other essential aspect is the willingness to work quietly. This means that although you work very hard, the intention is not to show people that you can come up with something spectacular. You work hard to achieve the mission you set out to achieve. It is not you who go about advertising how hardworking you are, but the community will observe that for itself and come in and join to assist you. There is need for humility in order to achieve the mission. Then there is the idea of social blue print. That is need and ability to come up with innovative solutions to social problems that haunt the community. For the problems bedevilling the people a home grown solution should be devised fast enough to avert any catastrophe. This, however, also calls to adopt new ways and to adapt to other conditions for survival. Adaptation is another way that is used to solve social problems, especially problems that arise from perceptions. For example there is a perceived problem in Africa, the problem of homosexuals. To many people this is a problem that is causing sleepless nights to religious leaders, politicians, HIV/AIDS activists and human rights activists. But what is the solution the community is searching for? Will the community able to eradicate homosexuality? What real harm can homosexuality cause? It is a problem-yes. But it is a perceptional problem, and the only sure, cheap and easy solution is there- the community has to adapt to this new phenomenon, since it can not cause any catastrophe to the human race. Adaptation is a solution, and an added way to overcome this is through awareness programs so that the community come to accept the new phenomenon. The ideas discussed in the video on how to change the world are very essential and practical. These aspects have a global focus and can be applied anywhere where change or innovation has to be made. The fact that in this discussion the writer based in Africa finds the suggestion applicable shows the universality of what was discussed in the video. The example of India shows that the ideas can not only apply in America, but also in Asia. When the writer followed the discussion on how to change the world he was able to give practical example from Africa to exemplified how useful the suggestions are and how applicable the recommendations are. The example from Brazil also shows the practicality of the ideas. The example of the revolving fund brings Europe into the picture. The idea of the revolving fund that is now being used across Africa has its beginning in Canada, which is a European Country. The implementation of the revolving fund was done after studying the Canadian example. So fo llowing the discussion on how to change the world, the description equally fits the change that started in Canada; the issue of the revolving fund. It is therefore important to note that the innovation, implementation and evaluation measures applicable in the first word countries can be done in developing countries. With this in mind it is easy to conclude that if we apply the concepts and philosophies explained and expanded in the video How to Change the World, surely the world can be changed, and together we can change it for the betterment of mankind. BIBLIOGRAPHY McAdam, R and Moffett, S(2010)University Of Ulster Innovation. Shirley Ann Hazzlet: Belfast Rundle,C.R(2010)Communication problem Solver: Simple Tools and Techniques For Business Managers. AMACOM books: New York Robbin,S(2008)Spirituality, Ethics and Care.Kingsley:london Heath, R.C(2004)Responding to Crisis.A Rhetorical Approach to Crisis Communication. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwa Jackson, P.Z(2001) The Simple Way to positive change.Nicholas Brealey Publishing:London. Hitchcok, D.E and Willard, M.L (2008) step by step Planning: How to Create and implement Sustainability Plans in Any Business Organ.Va Earthscan Ltd:London. Maser, C(2009).Earth in Our Care: Ecology, Economy and Sustainability. Rutgers University Press:New Brunswik. Lenner, P (2009) Environmental, Law, and Non profits: How NGOs Shape our Laws, Health and Communities. Pace Environmental review 26 No 1. Wint 2009 MAGAZINES Brunchhorst, D.J: landscapes Shaped by People and the Place institutions Require A new Conservation Agenda. BioScience 60 No 8 (2010) Nigg, J.N et all. Measured Gene-By-Environment Interaction In Relation to Attention- Deficit /Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology 49 No(Sept 2010 Raudsepp,H et all. Untangling The environmentalists paradox: Why is Human Well-being Increasing as Ecosystem Services Degrade. BioScience 60 No 8 Sep 2010. Singer,J and Helfrich C. Supporting RD support Groups. Research Technology Management51 No1 Jan/Feb (2008) Allen, S.M .Missed Connections. Social Forces 79 No 4 (2001) Karen,H(2008)Care Sociacultural Practice , Aesthetic Experience in the Art Clasroom: Visual Arts Research 34 No 1 Atkins, M. Five Key Concepts For Suitanaible Innovation. Industry Week 259 No.7. J1 2010. Mansdorf, Z. Sustainability-EHS Challenge . EHS Today 3 No1 Jan 2010. Penton Media Inc. Cleveland. WEB PAGES Nature versus Nurture www.wikipedia.com Research Papers on How to Change The worldEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeThree Concepts of PsychodynamicGenetic EngineeringCapital PunishmentHip-Hop is ArtAnalysis Of A Cosmetics Advertisement